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A Buddhist Sütra's Transformation Into a Daoist Text A BUDDHIST SÜTRA'S TRANSFORMATION INTO A DAOIST TEXT Stephan Peter Bumbacher, Universities of Tübingen and Zürich for Robert H. Gassmann, at his 60th birthday Abstract Daoism and Chinese Buddhism interacted in complex ways over the last two millenia. However, the precise nature of this two-way exchange still awaits a systematic investigation. Since the early 1980s, the Buddhist impact on lingbao-Daoism has become evident. Recently, it was suggested that the developing Daoist monasticism of fifth century Southern China may also have been influ¬ enced by the then already existing Buddhist one. Of special interest are Daoist texts that predate the lingbao-corpus and show some form of Buddhist influence as they might have had an impact on the latter. As a possible point of departure, an analysis of Yang Xi's adaptation of the Buddhist Forty-two sections of Buddhist sutras is offered. It shows that already a generation earlier than Ge Chaofu's lingbao scriptures Daoists not only had first hand knowledge of Buddhism but even made verbatim use of their scriptures to their own ends. As a by-product of this analysis, it is even possible to emend the received version of the Forty-two sections of Buddhist sutras where it apparently is defective. 1. Introduction The first four centuries of the common era witnessed not only the arrival of some forms of Buddhism in China, this was also the formative period of several traditions of Daoism, the indigenous Chinese Hochreligion.1 Both were essen¬ tially different: whereas the Buddhists sought to get out of samsära by entering nirväna or final extinction, the Daoists aimed at becoming immortals - either earthly immortals who would live on on earth for centuries, now and then chang¬ ing their whereabouts and altering their social identities, or heavenly immortals who would ascend heaven in broad daylight in order to integrate themselves into the heavenly hierarchy. 1 An early version of this article was presented at the XVth EACS European Association of Chinese Studies Conference, Heidelberg, August 25-29, 2004. AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 800 Stephan P. Bumbacher Nevertheless, from the very beginning both religions influenced each other in various and complex ways. One of the reasons for this was that both competed with each other to win influence on the élite. Quite often when a monk found himself immersed in a discussion with some members of the court or high offi¬ cials, he was confronted with Daoist notions and was asked whether or not the Buddhists had a similar concept. The same was true the other way round. The following example, taken from a Daoist source of the sixth century reporting events of earlier times, may give an impression of it: Before that, when he (Lu Xiujing, [406-477]) had reached Jiujiang2, the Prince of Jiujiang asked about the pros and cons as well as identical and different [points between] Daoism and Buddhism. The Master answered: "In Buddhism there is the liu qin3, in Daoism there is the Jade Sovereign4; these, however, by different roads lead to the same result, and that is all." The princes and dukes praised [this as] good. [...] The Son of Heaven then commanded the 'minister of education', the Prince of Jian'an,5 and the 'director ofthe imperial secretariat', Yuan Can,6 to provide the ceremony of a large banquet, to set up a platform for summoning the worthies, to invite all the accom¬ plished gentlemen of the court, to widely gather the present-day [men of] excellence, and to assemble [them] at the Buddha-Monastery of the Ornament [of the Soul] (Zhuangyan Fo Si ÜtJSH^Tf)- At that occasion, the 'scholars of the dark talk' vigorously debated the He [shang gong] commentary [to the Daode jing]; the vastly learned sramanas [as their] opponents in discussion sharp-pointedly put forth [their counter-arguments]; argued back and forth the [teachings of] Laozi and [of] Sâkyamuni,7 competing in mutually questioning and arguing [against each other]. The Master marked [their] principles and disciplined [their] statements, untied [their] confusions and smoothed [their] sharp edges. The princes and dukes sighed and tapped in admiration, and those near and distant were pleased and submitted [to his arguments]. When the session was finished they submitted a report to the Lord ruling over the people8. Within ten days, [the emperor] again requested [that they] assemble, but this time in the 'Lodging-house of the Invited Worthies' in the [imperial] 2 Modern Jiujiang city, Jiangxi province. 3 SSI, although this seems to be a rather important expression - according to the fragment's context - I have not yet been able to identify it. As it is presented here in parallel with the Daoists' highest god ZEIL it accordingly should indicate the highest divine being in Bud¬ dhism. 4 3IM or HiiÉ-h'Sr, is the God of Heaven, ^-$, the chief of the Daoist pantheon, cf. Maspero 1981:88-91 et passim. 5 Liu Xiuren gljfrf— (432^470). His official biography is in Song shu 5^11, ed. Zhonghua shuju, Beijing 1974, 72.1871-1878. 6 420-477. Official biography in Song shu 89.2229-2234. 7 -$¥?, lit.: "Li" and "Shi". "Li" stands for Laozi, "Shi" is short for Shi jia mou ni ffafl^ m. 8 The emperor. AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 A Buddhist sütra's Transformation into a Daoist Text 801 Hualin [park]. The emperor went out to attend in person. When the princes and dukes had fully gathered, and the Master wearing a deer head-cloth, ascended [the throne-platform], in order to pay his respectful visit to the emperor, the Son of Heaven sat gravely with enhanced respect, and personally asked about the dao and inquired about the utmost object of veneration. The Master pointedly explained the 'gate of the mysteries'9, exhaustingly expounded samsara (?)10, and went to the infinitesimal as well as to all patterns of the mysterious without exception. The emperor's heart was pleased about it. The princes and dukes, too, asked: "We have not heard the Daoists (tMM) explaining the 'three periods'11." The Master replied: "The scripture says: 'I don't know whose son [it]12 is, [but] it images the forefather of God.'13 When there already is a before, there presumably will be an after. When there is a before and an after, there will presumably be a middle. Zhuangzi says: 'No sooner is one born than one is dying.'14 Both these [quotations] elucidate the three periods. But their words are terse and their principles are mysterious [so] the world was not yet able to apprehend it!" While the emperor15 wanted to compel him [to stay] by [bestowing on him] honours, the Master gazed into the distance and was not interested16. [...]17 In such situations Daoists had to know Buddhist concepts and had to be able to relate them to their own ones. Similarly, Buddhists had to be acquainted with Daoist notions. Both picked up and adopted aspects of the other's systems as it seemed suitable. We should not forget that there also existed an economic com¬ petition between both over the control of ritual services which "certainly resulted in much of the shared vocabulary and doctrinal coincidence we find in the texts left to us".18 A culmination was reached when the Daoist lingbao-(WLli.) tradi¬ tion towards the end of the fourth century AD almost wholesale copied Buddhist sütras into texts of their own corpus.19 9 This may be an allusion to Daodejing Al and thus a metaphor for the dao. 10 WiMi- I have not yet found another reference for this expression. Probably öfjifE stands for ÖSEÜ, the usual Chinese translation of the term samsara. 11 HtË, refers to the principle of karmic retribution which is known as JEtËH JP;> "cause and effect of the three periods", which sets the retributive sequence through past, present and fu¬ ture. 12 S.C.: the dao. 13 Daode jing A4. 14 Zhuangzi 2. 15 $f!SJ. original meaning "the Court", here obviously used in a derived meaning: the inhabi¬ tant of the court, the emperor. 16 ^PH, lit.: "did not turn [his] head". 17 Daoxue zhuan jJl-PW ap. Sandong zhu'nang LELM^-M HY 1131, 2.5a7-6b7, translated in Bumbacher 2000:209-214. 18 Bokenkamp 2004:331. 19 Bokenkamp 2004 and 1990:126f. AS/EA LX'4'2006, S. 799-831 802 Stephan P. Bumbacher While the investigation of the history of Buddho-Daoist interactions still is a desideratum, we should like to offer in the following but a small contribution to this wide and vastly and unexplored field. 2. The Buddhist version of the f$|f0+^¥ Forty-two sections ofBuddhist sütras The Sütra of Forty-two sections H^—îj£|5 is traditionally considered the oldest extant Chinese Buddhist text. In fact, this is already hinted at in the first chapter of Huijiao's (497-554) HâJ Gaoseng zhuan MM19- (Biographies of eminent Buddhist monks), where it is said that Käsyapa Mätahga during the reign of Han Mingdi (r. 57-75) came to China as "the first of the sramanas in China" (tHifeW^Hâ^pIË,) but did not preach as there were not yet any con¬ verts mXìèWm^mM. ®MM$mMfftMm - and "according to a record translated the Sütra of Forty-two sections in one juan" fätßjx- MWÏÏB -|-Z1^,|M—"^).20 The claim is, however, made explicit in Gaoseng zhuan's biography of Dharmaratna. Here we learn that of the first five Buddhist texts originally brought to China only the Sütra of Forty-two sections actually still exists, containing roughly two thousand words, of all sütras extant on Chinese soil this is the first one (BÌ0+-*II^Mffi.
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